Vivienne Westwood to Duchess Kate: Buy Less

Dame Vivienne Westwood has only one piece of counsel for the erstwhile Kate Middleton: Buy less. “I don’t have any advice to her, except I think it would be great if she wore the same clothes over and again, because that’s very good for the environment and it would send out a very nice message,” the legendary British designer told reporters before the showing of the Fall/Winter 2013 Red Label collection at London Fashion Week on Sunday. The longtime environmental activist also distributed a “climate revolution charter” that urged people to “buy less, choose well, make it last.”

ROYAL ADVICE

“If you’re going to all that trouble to get an outfit that suits you, then you should keep on wearing it,” Westwood added. “I mean, you don’t have to have a red outfit one day and then something almost the same in blue the next.”

But the Duchess of Cambridge isn’t known for her extravagant spending habits. Quite the opposite, in fact.

But the Duchess of Cambridge isn’t known for her extravagant spending habits. Quite the opposite, in fact. Sustainability advocates like Livia Firth have praised Prince William’s wife for wearing the same clothes and shoes repeatedly. “It’s important that women who get that kind of attention make a statement,” Firth told the Evening Standard in September. “For the press, it has been shocking, but for other women, it’s beautiful to know that celebrities have the courage to wear the same dress twice.”

Kelly Osbourne, host of E!’s Fashion Police, even derided the duchess for her recycling her outfits. “In England they’re like, ‘Look how thrifty she’s being, showing the British public that the royals are in a recession, as well,’” Osbourne told Jay Leno on The Tonight Show in 2011. “If I had that job, I would only wear it once,” she added. “If I am going to be the future bloody Queen of England, I’m going to wear that dress once because I’m giving up the rest of my life, all of my privacy. At least I can get a new dress every day!”